October | Highs & Lows

Shannon’s perspective on life as detailed in her monthly columns often feels like reading the flip side of my own mind. We live on opposite sides of the United States, we followed different career paths post-graduation, and we haven’t seen in each other in person in over two years, and yet when I sit down to write my monthly column I find that she’s written the same sentiment into her words that I have floating around in my head. And so with this month – everyone around me is off traveling on grand adventures. Two of our mutual friends spent two weeks in Europe, a friend changed careers and is now traveling across the country as a flight attendant, a former fellow student moved to Germany to finish her last two years of college.

And yeah, it sucks to be stuck in the same place. As my income is currently set at zero and my internship in DC is over, I can’t travel anywhere on my own so I continue to stay in the Raleigh area, never venturing out much further than my home county.

And yet – the seasons are changing again, my siblings are on their fall breaks from school, and with the cooling of the weather comes the desire to travel out again. So, I’m tagging along on family trips to see the best of North Carolina, from the highs of the mountains to the lows of the coast. This past weekend I spent a few days in the Appalachians with my parents, hiking up mountains in the morning fog and drinking local beers at a burger chain. This upcoming weekend I’m heading east towards the Atlantic to spend a few days at the beach soaking in the sun rays and drinking coffee at my favorite cafe on the North Carolina coastline.

These aren’t the grand adventures I thought I’d be having at this point in my life, but honestly? Life is so unpredictable and so short, and it’d be a shame to waste it feeling sorry for myself over the loss of the elusive “grand adventure” when I have such marvelous things within my own state borders.

Kate is the snapshots editor of Atlas Addict. Catch her on instagram @bluejacketgirl.